Lantern

ABSTRACT

A lantern structure having a transparent or translucent globe member which protects a lantern mantle or flame. Top and bottom support members are disposed above and below the globe, and spring means are mounted on at least one of the top and bottom support members in engagement with the globe to bias the globe into snug engagement with the other of the top and bottom support members, thereby eliminating or sharply reducing globe rattle.

United States Patent 91 Vanderbeek Y [4 1 May 1, 1973 LANTERN [75] Inventor: Willard F. Vanderbeek, Sycamore,

Ill.

[73] A Assignee: Olin Corporation, New Haven,

Conn. I M Mam [22] Filed: Apr.30,l97l

[21] Appl.No.: 138,961

[52] U.S. Cl. ..240/1l, 240/25, 240/98,

7 240/135 [51] Int. Cl. ..F21l 7/00 [58] Field of Search ..240/l35, 100, 128, 240/143, 25,11, 90, 98; 431/110 [56] 1 References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,686,868 8/1954 Diedring ..240/9O 1,545,711 7/1925 Townsend ....240/25 Billingham ..240/

Steele ..240/135 628,377 7/1899 Wilmarth ..240/1 1 X 650,038 5/1900 Dudley ..240/1 716,673 12/1902 Cranston ....240/ 1,690,563 11/1928 Underwood.. ....240/135 2,344,221 3/1944 Trautner ..240/25 X Primary Examiner-Samuel S. Matthews Assistant Examiner-Kenneth C. Hutchison Att0rney-Donald R. Motsko, H. Samuel Kieser and William W. Jones [5 7] ABSTRACT A lantern structure having a transparent or translucent globe member which protects a lantern mantle or flame. Top and bottom support members are disposed above and below the globe, and spring means are mounted on at least one of the top and bottom support members in engagement with the globe to bias the globe into snug engagement with the other of the top and bottom support members, thereby eliminating or sharply reducing globe rattle.

4 Claims, 3 Drawing Figures Patented May 1, 1973 3,731,078

i 5 X6 WILLARD F l/ANDERBEEK INVENTOR.

ATTO R N EY l LANTERN This invention concerns a lantern structure having a globe member to protect the light source, and top and bottom supports for the globe with spring means to bias the globe into snug engagement with the top and bottom supports to eliminate globe rattle.

Conventional portable lantern structures for indoor and outdoor use include: a source of illumination, such as a mantle or fuel burner; a globe which surrounds and protects the illumination source while permitting passage of light; a base upon which the globe rests; and a top cover member which is disposed above the globe, but spaced apart therefrom to allow free circulation of air to and from the illuminator. The top cover member is generally fixed in some manner with respect to the base upon which the globe rests and the complete assembly is generally mounted on a fuel reservoir, such as a propane or kerosene tank. In order to ensure adequate circulation of air to the illuminator, the base upon which the globe rests is perforated and the top cover may be perforated or for more pleasing appearce, spaced apart from the globe.

, Mass production of such lantern structures has resulted in small dimensional variations occurring in the axial length of the globe and the fixed distance between the base and the top cover of the lantern, with the result that, once assembled, the globe tends to be free to move vertically between the base and top and thus produces an irritating rattle when the lantern is transported, and the globe can even break as a result of the rattle.

This invention is directed toward a lantern assembly which automatically compensates for dimensional variations in globes and/or globe mounting structures and results in the globe being held firmly in place upon being assembled to obviate globe rattle. The assembly of this invention is operative with any form of globe, e.g., conical, pyramidal, spheroidal, or with a series of individual panes combined to act in the same manner as a globe. In its simplest form, the assembly of this invention includes a base member for supporting the bottom edge of the globe. The base member is apertured for circulation of air, and includes a number of spring fingers struck from the body of the base member, upon which spring fingers the bottom edge of the globe rests. A top cover member is connected to the base member by means of tie rods, an internal connector, or the like, and spaced apart from the base member so as to overlie the top edge of the globe. Retainer tabs are mounted on the top cover member to engage the top edge of the globe and hold the latter offset from the remainder of the top cover so as to provide an air circulation space between the globe and-the top cover. The spring fingers serve to bias the globe into snug engagement with the retainer tabs so as to fix the globe against vertical movement.

It is, therefore, an object of this invention to provide a lantern structure including an illuminator-protecting globe member which is fixed against vertical movement upon assembly.

It is another object of this invention to provide a lantern structure of the character described having a self adjusting globe-supporting portion operative to snugly engage globes of varying vertical dimension to retain the latter against vertical movement.

It is a further'object of this invention to provide a lantern structure of the character described having spring means on a globe-supporting member operative to bias the globe into snug engagement with an opposed globe supporting member to fix the globe against vertical movement.

It is yet another object of this invention to provide a lantern structure of the character described having a globe-supporting portion which is automatically adjustable for use with globes of a variety of configurations.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment of the invention taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevational view of a preferred embodiment of the lantern structure of this invention employing a propane tank as a support and using a mantle structure as an illuminator;

FIG. 2 is a fragmented vertical sectional view of the lantern structure of FIG. ll enlarged and showing the illuminating portion thereof with the mantle omitted for clarity; and

FIG. 3 is perspective view of the globe-supporting base of the lantern of FIG. 1 showing the spring fingers which are struck from the main body of the base.

Referring now to the drawings, a lantern of the propane-fueled variety is shown. The lantern includes a pressurized propane tank 2 which serves as a stand for the lantern. An outlet passage 4 is connected to the tank 2 and includes a conventional valve housing 6 having an internal valve (not shown) of conventional nature actuated by a valve knob 8 for controlling fuel flow to the illuminator. A mixing chamber 10 is downstream of the valve housing and includes lateral apertures 13.2 for admitting primary air into the fuel stream for ignition. A manifold M is secured to the downstream end of the mixing chamber 10 and opens into a tubular conduit 16 to which an illuminator in the form of a mantle 18 is secured. The conduit 16 is operative to deliver an air-fuel mixture from the manifold 14 to the mantle 18 which air-fuel mixture is ignited in a conventional manner to cause the mantle 18 to become incandescent.

A base plate 20 is mounted on the manifold 14 by means of a nut 22 which is threaded onto a bolt 24 secured to the manifold 14. The base plate 2% includes a central aperture 26 through which the bolt 24 passes, lateral apertures 2% through one of which the conduit 16 passes, and a plurality of air holes 30 through which secondary air passes to the mantle 18. A plurality of blade spring fingers 32 are struck from the base plate 20 and upwardly and outwardly inclined therefrom.

A globe member 34 is mounted on the base plate 20 with the lower surface 36 of the globe 3d resting on the base plate spring fingers 32. The upper surface 38 of the globe 34 is biased upwardly by the spring fingers 32 into snug contact with a number of tabs 40 which are secured to the inner surface 42 of a top cover plate 44 disposed above the globe 34. The top cover plate 44 is secured to the conduit 16 by means of a nut d6 screwed onto a bolt d8 mounted on the conduit 16. The tabs 40 engage the upper surface 38 of the globe 34 in such a manner as to provide an annular gap 50 between the globe 34 and top cover 44 to permit secondary combustion-supporting air to flow from the mantle area between the globe and top cover and into the ambient atmosphere. While the globe 34 is shown as having a conical configuration, a spheroidal globe as 34' (shown in phantom) can also be employed with the invention, as can a great variety of other globe shapes.

It will be appreciated that the bottom plate 20 and top cover plate 44 are spaced apart a fixed distance by the conduit 16, which distance, however, may vary due to manufacturing tolerances. Furthermore, the height of the globe 34 is a generally fixed dimension which, however, may also vary due to manufacturing tolerances. Dispite dimensional variations within acceptable manufacturing tolerances, the spring fingers 32 will always urge the globe 34 into snug engagement with the top cover tabs 40 thuseliminating vertical movement of the globe with respect to the base and top cover plates after assembly.

It is preferred to have the elongate dimension of the spring fingers 32 extend radially on the base plate 20, as shown in the drawings, so that the spring fingers 32 will extend radially outwardly and upwardly and center the globe 34 and restrain it against lateral movement as well as bias it longitudinally in a manner clearly shown in FIG. 2. The spring fingers can, however, have their elongate dimension extend tangentially of the base plate without departing from the spirit of the invention. While the top cover plate 44 is shown secured to the conduit 16, it will be understood that a plurality of tie rods could also be used to fixedly space the top cover apart from the base plate. Furthermore, while the spring fingers are shown as being secured to the base plate, they could also be secured to the top cover without departing from the spirit of the invention. The globe mounting arrangement of this invention is shown in conjunction with a propane burning lantern having a mantle, however, other fuel-burning lanterns, and lanterns without a mantle or with more than one mantle can incorporate the globe mount without departing from the spirit of this invention.

Since many changes and variations of the disclosed embodiment of the invention may be made without departing from the inventive concept, it is not intended to limit the invention otherwise than as required by the appended claims.

What is claimed is: 1. A lantern comprising:

a. an illuminator; b. a member mounted above said illuminator; c. a plurality of spring fingers mounted below said illuminator; and a globe mounted on said spring fingers said globe deflecting said spring fingers downwardly and said globe surrounding said illuminator, said globe being automatically adjusted upwardly into snug engagement with said member by said spring fingers by reason of their springiness.

. A lantern comprising:

. an illuminator;

a member mounted above said illuminator;

. a support mounted below said illuminator, at least one of said member and said support having connected thereto a plurality of spring fingers extending toward the other of said member and said support; and

a globe mounted between said support and said member and surrounding said illuminator, said globe also contacting said spring fingers, and said globe being operative by reason of engagement with said spring fingers to cause said spring fingers to be deflected and to automatically adjust said globe into biased snug engagement with the other of said member and said support. A lantern comprising: an illuminator; a globe surrounding said illuminator; a member mounted above said globe to restrain upward movement thereof; a base plate mounted below said globe, said base plate having a plurality of spring fingers secured thereto upon which said globe rests, said spring fingers being operative to automatically adjust said globe into snug engagement with said member to restrict vertical movement of said globe; and e. means connected to said member and said base plate to fixedly space the fonner from the latter. 4. The lantern of claim 3, wherein said spring fingers are struck from said base plate and extend toward said member. 

1. A lantern comprising: a. an illuminator; b. a member mounted above said illuminator; c. a plurality of spring fingers mounted below said illuminator; and d. a globe mounted on said spring fingers said globe deflecting said spring fingers downwardly and said globe surrounding said illuminator, said globe being automatically adjusted upwardly into snug engagement with said member by said spring fingers by reason of their springiness.
 2. A lantern comprising: a. an illuminator; b. a member mounted above said illuminator; c. a support mounted below said illuminator, at least one of said member and said support having connected thereto a plurality of spring fingers extending toward the other of said member and said support; and d. a globe mounted between said support and said member and surrounding said illuminator, said globe also contacting said spring fingers, and said globe being operative by reason of engagement with said spring fingers to cause said spring fingers to be deflected and to automatically adjust said globe into biased snug engagement with the other of said member and said support.
 3. A lantern comprising: a. an illuminator; b. a globe surrounding said illuminator; c. a member mounted above said globe to restrain upward movement thereof; d. a base plate mounted below said globe, said base plate having a plurality of spring fingers secured thereto upon which said globe rests, said spring fingers being operative to automatically adjust said globe into snug engagement with said member to restrict vertical movement of said globe; and e. means connected to said member and said base plate to fixedly space the former from the latter.
 4. The lantern of claim 3, wherein said spring fingers are struck from said base plaTe and extend toward said member. 